Loading ...Guess who’s Bak
What do you normally expect of a martial arts film? Surely a bunch of kicks, punches, stunts, elbows, knees, and impossible pirouettes can’t be too far from what you’re thinking of. What you might not expect are some beautifully filmed scenes, highly thoughtful shots and philosophical teachings behind all of this. Martial Arts superstar Tony Jaa and the leader of the Muay Thai Stunt team, Panna Rittikrai, have combined their geniuses in order to create an incredible sequel to the acclaimed Ong-Bak: The Muay Thai Warrior.
Perhaps it will be useful to mention that Ong-Bak: The Beginning bears no connection with its antecedent. In fact the few and only common denominators are Tony Jaa, Thailand and Elephants. Written by both directors, the plot tells the story of Tien, a young boy in feudal Thailand who, after witnessing the merciless murder of his family, is saved and raised by Chernang, the leader of a guerrilla band. Once he reaches adulthood, our tragic hero becomes the greatest warrior ever known. Destiny soon enough puts him onto a path of vengeance. This is a somewhat simple and underdeveloped plot (i.e. a weak love story with no clear outcome) yet, the demanding viewer will be delighted to see there is a philosophical stream running throughout the film. The directors reveal an honest attempt to develop an insightful realm of Buddhist teachings in the background of the story. This can be said to be one of the main pillars: power of the mind and soul is as important as physical power.
But what this film is truly remarkable for is the breathtakingly choreographed and meticulously performed fighting scenes. Tony Jaa, executes some of the most jaw-dropping martial arts ever seen on screen (during training sessions he actually sprained his ankle and got even burned while his trousers were on fire). Thai dancing, Muay Thai, Korat Thai Boxing, Lopburi Thai Boxing, Kung Fu, Ninjutsu, and Taifudo are some of the styles fused in this film to give birth to ‘Natayuth’. Although wrestling with crocodiles, subjugating elephants, fighting with half woman-half eagle hybrids might not be everybody’s cup of tea, once you watch this film you’ll want to join the closest gym and become your local hero.
Another aspect of Ong-Bak 2 that must be apprised is its cinematography:
brilliantly filmed scenes fill the screen with the light of a fantastic, magical world full of intense colours (it is not surprising that the film ended up way over budget); the cast are delicately chosen and costume design is first-rate; traditional imagery is accurate and the soundtrack is as intense as the scenes it embellishes. Though, if we do get nit-picking it won’t be hard to find editing flaws like CGI fire and blood, a couple too many strings used in some combats and the unnecessary repetition of certain scenes.
To sum up, the plot is somewhat weak and does have a few lagoons. Yet, the fighting and filming don’t fail to deliver the excitement that all fans of Jaa’s films were expecting. One could even say that the innovative combination of non-mechanized stunts, gorgeous shots and full-on action has probably broken the boundaries of an aged genre that was starting to stagnate. Expectations for the third part of Ong-Bak are high, very high. Rittikrai and Jaa will have to work very hard if they’re planning to make our spine shiver… once more.
